THE HYSSOP BRANCH

THE HYSSOP BRANCH
3/21/99
John 19:28-29
Jerry Vines

When Jesus was dying on the cross for our sins, the Bible says that He said, “I’m
thirsty.” When Jesus said that the Roman soldiers reached over, got a sponge and filled it
full of vinegar and John says they put it on a hyssop branch and put it to His mouth.
I want to talk today about the hyssop branch. Probably this morning at breakfast
you said to your family, “I’ve been wondering what a hyssop branch is. I really hope the
preacher talks about it this morning.” You’re in luck. You picked the right Sunday to
come. I want to talk with you about this hyssop branch and the importance of it.
The hyssop branch was a very common bush or branch in the Holy Land. It grew
out of the walls around that particular area. Because of its leafy texture and its ability to
absorb liquids very well, it was commonly used as an applicator or brush. Especially in
the Old Testament ceremonies the hyssop branch was used for the sprinkling or the
application of blood. So, the hyssop branch is going to preach us a sermon this morning
about the shed-blood of the Lord Jesus Christ at the cross the day He died.
When Billy Graham was a young man and just getting started in his preaching
ministry, a professor of Cornell University came to him and said, “Young man, it is
obvious that you are gifted. You are a good communicator. You have a winsome
personality and you are evidently sincere. I believe you are going to have a very
successful ministry, but you are going to have to leave out that “blood stuff.” Billy
Graham decided, at that point, that he would preach more than ever on the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of
sin.
From time to time folks leave our church and they ask how they can go about
finding a church. One of the things I try to say to them is this. When you go to a church
and you listen for a ...

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